Objective:To evaluate the quality of critical patient handover practice between emergency room and intensive care unit (ICU) nurses, and to provide a basis for structured handover process.Methods:From March to July 2023, a total of 223 pairs of nurses in emergency room and ICU (including EICU) of 5 Class 3 Grade A general hospitals in Suzhou were selected as the research objects by using cross-sectional survey method and convenience sampling method. Self-designed general information questionnaire and Patient Handover Practice Quality Scale were used to investigate the included 223 pairs of nurses in emergency room and ICU on the current situation of handover time and quality.Results:A total of 211 pairs of nurses were included, including 286 females (67.8%) and 136 males (32.2%). The average age of emergency department nurses was (27.31 ± 2.17) years old, and ICU nurses was (26.96 ± 3.04) years old. The total scores of the patient handover practice Quality Scale for nurses in the emergency room and ICU were (45.25 ± 6.26) and (43.55 ± 7.19) points respectively, and the scores of the information transmission dimension were (20.47 ± 5.43) and (17.66 ± 3.45) points. The scores of common understanding dimension were (7.59 ± 2.31) and (8.58 ± 2.46) points. The scores of work atmosphere dimension were (7.93 ± 2.11) and (8.39 ± 2.29) points. The scores of handover situation dimension were (5.33 ± 1.30) and (5.70 ± 1.53) points, and the differences were statistically significant ( t values were - 6.35-4.22, all P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in the scores of handover practice quality between emergency room nurses and ICU nurses according to specialization, education background, working years and job category ( t values were - 4.91-2.56, all P<0.05). Conclusions:Emergency room nurses and ICU nurses have different requirements and expectations for handover procedures, so it is necessary to build a structured handover practice framework and carry out personalized handover practice training, in order to achieve the consistency of handover content and improve the quality of critical patients handover practice.